'Art Gwangju 21' to be held at Kim Dae-jung Center from 28th to 31st

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 26th that ‘Art Gwangju 21,’ which will review the trends of the contemporary art market both domestically and internationally and continue the explosive interest and changes in the art market that had been contracted due to the impact of COVID-19, will be held from the 28th to the 31st at the Kim Dae-jung Convention Center.

Hosted by Gwangju City and organized by the Korea Arts Promotion Agency, this event is preparing a new leap forward by supporting the regeneration of the local art culture ecosystem through various preliminary events beyond a short-term event under the theme of ‘Happy Art Market.’

The main exhibition operates with 95 booths and is a professional art fair composed of 70 domestic and international specialized galleries from 15 countries (56 domestic, 14 overseas) and 25 self-operated booths of planned exhibitions run by the Art Gwangju 21 Secretariat.

Local and domestic galleries will showcase beautiful works, and meaningful works by local artists combining tradition and modernity will be introduced through the diverse planning of Art Gwangju’s own booths.

Along with this, synergy effects are considered through booth operations linked with local cultural and artistic events such as the Art Street Project, the revitalization project of the Daein Art Market, and participation of Gwangju disabled art organizations.

The total number of participating artists is 535, classified into 341 artists from domestic galleries, 60 artists from overseas galleries, and 134 artists participating in Art Gwangju’s self-planned exhibitions.

Works by masters of the Korean art world such as Kim Myung-sik (1950-), Kim Chang-yeol (1929-2021), Kim Whanki (1913-1974), Park Seo-bo (1931-), Bang Hye-ja (1937-), Paik Nam-june (1932-2006), Shin Hyun-guk (1938-), Lee Kang-so (1943-), Lee Geon-yong (1942-), Lee Bae (1956-), and Lee Ufan (1936-) will be exhibited, along with works by internationally renowned artists who have received high attention at every exhibition in Korea, such as Andy Warhol (1928?1987), David Hockney (1937-), Takashi Murakami (村上隆, 1962-), and Philip Colbert (1979-).

In addition, works by famous local artists representing Honam such as Kang Yeon-gyun, Kang Woon, Park Gu-hwan, Song Pil-yong, Oh Seung-yoon, Lee Inam, Lee Jung-rok, Jung Song-gyu, Choi Young-hoon, Han Hee-won, and Hwang Young-sung, as well as emerging artists rapidly rising in the art market like Kang Dong-ho, Ko Cha-boon, Lee In-sung, and HaruK, are also noteworthy.

The regeneration of a sustainable art market that coexists with the region is the long-term goal recognized by all at Art Gwangju 21, which has conducted various preliminary events to coexist with local galleries and artists.

As part of this, ‘Preview’ (6 sessions), functioning as a local artist art market, invited collectors and prospective collectors from various social strata to promote meetings with artists.

Also, ‘Prepare’ (5 sessions), which involved visiting participating galleries of Art Gwangju 21 in turn, was conducted to induce balanced promotion and expand interest in galleries.

Furthermore, various programs such as 90 online exhibitions through the website and YouTube, and 10 art culture lectures linked with autonomous district cultural spaces, public institutions, and organizations were promoted.

The biggest distinction of Art Gwangju 21 is the attempt to change the participation of local artists in Art Gwangju by converting the previously operated artist booths into secretariat-planned exhibition booths.

The self-booth planned exhibitions consist of six different exhibitions with the goal of providing the joy of art appreciation and the possibility of artwork collection through the art fair.

These include a prestigious artist exhibition introducing veteran local artists, a blue-chip artist exhibition of popular artist groups, and a rising star exhibition aimed at nurturing visionary young artists.

With the goal of one artwork per household collection, the Heart’s Gift Exhibition and Happy Painting Exhibition are proposed to introduce art collections by warm local artists to visitors.

A Proposal Zone focusing on large-scale works introducing artists who create artistic achievements and lead the contemporary era will be presented, exhibiting works that differentiate from existing fairs.

For various visitors attending the art fair, virtual space art exhibition experiences, souvenir giveaways through lucky draws, and commemorative photo print events on-site will also be held.

For the first time in a domestic art fair, a metaverse exhibition booth is prepared to offer a future-oriented program in the new normal era where local artists’ creative works can be appreciated in a unique environment.

This aims to realize a future-type art market platform by creating virtual spaces using metaverse systems, providing smooth artistic activities and networking between artists and consumers in new media online spaces, and enabling enjoyment and distribution.

An art culture platform website that breathes with the local art community online is being established to support the main Art Gwangju event, art world news, and artist pages.

Through these efforts, Art Gwangju 21 dreams of a ‘happy art market supporting the art culture ecosystem.’ This event, which promotes the high-quality local art culture, is expected to be a meaningful opportunity for art lovers both domestically and internationally to visit Gwangju and share various cultural assets.

Lee Yong-seop, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, said, “The 12th Gwangju International Art Exhibition is especially meaningful as it is held under difficult conditions due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic,” and added, “I hope culture becomes the daily life of citizens, the dignity of the city, and a future food source and jobs, so that local artists can overcome the difficulties of COVID-19 and gain new vitality.”